A Cup of Coffee
by MagicMysticFantasy
Summary: Tumblr prompt AU. "Pick an OTP and imagine them meeting when they are both in college and one of them pours a Monster energy drink into their coffee and says 'I am going to die'." There will be other characters from other movies in this as well, but it will be mainly focused on RotG and Frozen. Jelsa.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, Frozen, or their characters. I only own my original ideas._

 _Note: Feel free to review! They make my day when they're good, and help me improve when they aren't. Thanks, and enjoy!_

Chapter 1

Elsa sat at the back corner of the room, hoping to avoid attention and proximity to others. The only chairs near her own were the ones in front of her and beside her. Two people were better than four. She was the first person in the class, beating even the teacher. It was a habit she'd gotten into because of her parents. They had always said that it was better to be early to things rather than late.

Over the next five minutes, more and more people filtered in to the room, and she cast her eyes over the other students in concealed amusement as they came in. Nearly every one of them were yawning and half asleep. Elsa had always been a morning person, and had never really needed much sleep. In fact, she only slept about six hours a night, from midnight to six in the morning. Her current class was at seven thirty, so she had already been awake for an hour and a half, unlike many of the other students.

A glance at the clock told her class was going to start in a couple of minutes, and she saw the teacher come into the room and begin setting up. By this point, the only chair left unoccupied was the one next to her. A flash of movement by the door caught her eye, and she turned to see what had caused it with a mild curiosity. She felt a flicker of interest as the last student walked into the room.

A boy with white hair and blue eyes staggered into the class. He was wearing a blue hoodie and grey sweatpants, with black sneakers on his feet. He looked like he was about to fall asleep standing up. His eyes blearily scanned the room for an empty seat, and they came to rest on the chair beside Elsa. His gaze didn't reach her, and he shuffled his way across the room in her direction.

When he arrived, he set down the biggest coffee mug Elsa had ever seen and flopped down. He opened his backpack and pulled out a huge can of Monster and set it down beside the cup of coffee that was no doubt caffeinated. Elsa watched as the white-haired boy considered the two drinks, then opened the Monster and poured it into his cup of coffee.

Her eyes widened at the thought of that much caffeine, and she briefly worried about the possibility that he could have a heart attack right here in the classroom. Then she thought about the taste of the combined drinks and grimaced. The guy was clearly as uncertain about the flavor as she was, because he looked at the cup with a slightly queasy expression. A moment later he yawned so hard his jaw popped, and he looked at the cup with renewed interest and picked it up.

"I am going to die." He said, staring into the cup thoughtfully. He pondered that statement for a moment, before shrugging and putting the mug to his lips and drinking several mouthfuls of the liquid like he was drinking shots. He immediately set the cup back down, and started coughing at the taste, his face screwed up in disgust. "Oh my god. That tastes disgusting." Despite herself, Elsa laughed at his horrified tone.

"Even I could have told you that, and I don't drink either of those." she commented quietly to the boy, right when he reluctantly was taking another gulp of his potentially lethal drink. His eyes flicked to her, then widened as he began to cough again. Elsa's amusement was soon replaced by concern as he spluttered beside her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." he wheezed back, his eyes watering slightly. "Though if I keep drinking this, I might not be. If I start choking or have a heart attack from this, feel free to call an ambulance." Elsa gave a small smile and couldn't help the quiet chuckle that escaped her at the slightly morbid humor.

"I'll keep that in mind." Her eyes drifted to the front of the room again, and she noticed the professor starting his lesson. She returned her attention to the front of the class, putting the half-awake young man she'd been talking with at the back of her mind. For the next hour, she took notes diligently. She was surprised at how easy college English seemed to be. Granted, it was only the first lesson and they didn't cover much, but from what it sounded like, this class was going to be easier than expected.

When the lesson was over, she put her things away in her backpack neatly and stood up. Around the room, people were in various stages of leaving, some already gone. Beside her, the white-haired boy was standing as well, and she was surprised to see that the giant mug was empty.

"So, I see you aren't dead yet. I suppose if I see you here Thursday it means you survived all that caffeine." she commented. The boy laughed, and Elsa vaguely noted that it was the kind of laugh that meant someone laughed often and easily.

"Here's to surviving until then." He replied, then seemed to realize something. He held out his hand to Elsa with a friendly grin. "I'm Jack by the way. Nice to meet you." Elsa hesitated for a moment, then noticed the brief flash of uncertainty that crossed his features and took his hand lightly.

"Elsa. Nice to meet you too." she said, before dropping her hand again. Remembering her schedule for the day, she glanced at the clock then widened her eyes when she saw the time. "I have to go. My next class is in half an hour and it's on the other side of campus." She felt almost apologetic for cutting their conversation short, though it wasn't her fault. Jack winced sympathetically.

"Ouch. Back to back classes this early in the morning on the first day? That's rough. I'll stop holding you up though, and let you get going." Elsa gave him a grateful smile and a small wave then left the classroom, heading towards her next class with a small smile on her face.

* * *

Jack's morning hadn't started off well. He had hit the snooze button on his alarm one too many times, and had ended up running late. What made everything worse was that it was the first day of classes, and it was the time for the best first impressions, not the worst. He'd had just enough time to throw on some comfy clothing and scarf a piece of toast before he had to grab his stuff and go. Luckily, he had several cans of Monster to choose from, and he snagged one to support the caffeine from his coffee.

He'd made his way across campus in a sort of daze, squinting at the sunshine. He'd never really been a morning person, preferring the dark and quiet of the night. Not that he didn't like the daytime; the day was when all of the people were out and fun things happened. Still, he'd definitely take late nights over early mornings. Jack reached his class with only a couple of minutes to spare.

For a moment he'd been worried that there weren't any seats left, but then he saw one way in the back corner. Jack shuffled his way over to the seat and set down his mug of coffee before flopping down into the chair. He looked at the cup and realized that the amount of caffeine in there really wasn't enough to wake him up properly so he could pay full attention. He considered his options, then pulled out the can of Monster he'd snagged on his way out of the dorm room and set it beside his coffee cup, gauging whether or not it would fit in the mug.

Figuring it would work well enough, he opened the can and poured the entire thing into his coffee. A cream soda-y, Mountain Dew-y scent mixed with the smell of his coffee. It didn't smell all that appetizing. On top of that, his coffee went from a rich brown to a putrid green-brown. It was that wonderful image that brought Jack to his senses. Not only would this taste really weird, but it could quite possibly kill him. A yawn halted his thoughts, and his jaw dropped so dramatically he felt it pop. That was it.

"I am going to die." He commented aloud, staring at the mixture. He shrugged, what was the worst that could happen? Wary of the taste, he brought the cup to his lips, then threw back several mouthfuls of the liquid like he was downing shots. It burned his throat, and it tasted like acid, or something toxic. He began coughing. "Oh my god. That tastes disgusting."

He grimaced at the thought of finishing his drink. However, he knew that without his morning dose of caffeine, he wouldn't be fully awake until eleven-ish. He couldn't afford to be that out of it in his first class of the semester, so he picked up his cup and took another wary mouthful. A gentle laugh met his ears before its owner spoke.

"Even I could have told you that, and I don't drink either of those." Jack flicked his eyes to the side to look at the speaker. His eyes widened as he saw her, and he began coughing again in his surprise. Beside him was a gorgeous young woman with platinum blonde hair and sapphire eyes. She was wearing a green and purple shirt with black jeans and flats. Her hair was braided into an updo that looked almost regal. As he watched, her amusement morphed into concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Jack wheezed back as his eyes watered, slightly embarrassed. Seriously, how did he miss seeing her when he sat down? "Though if I keep drinking this, I might not be. If I start choking or have a heart attack from this, feel free to call an ambulance."

He hoped she hadn't noticed that he hadn't started to cough until he looked at her, and to his relief, she seemed not to notice, writing it off as the toxic mixture he'd made. She laughed again, and Jack felt unexpectedly proud that he was the reason for it.

"I'll keep that in mind." She said with a small smile. The professor started the lesson for the day, and soon her attention was riveted to the front of the room. Jack tried to pay attention, he really did. But every five minutes or so, he realized that his gaze had drifted once again from the teacher to the girl beside him. By the end of the lesson, he'd learned a lot. He just hadn't learned a lot about his English class.

Jack had learned that the young woman beside him was right handed, and wrote very tidy notes. He'd learned that when she focused, a small crease developed between her eyebrows, and her nose crinkled slightly. He'd learned that her eyes lit up when she understood something. Before he knew it, the people around him were packing up, and he'd heard only half the lesson. He stood up just before she did, and tried to think of something to say to her.

"So, I see you aren't dead yet. I suppose if I see you here Thursday it means you survived all that caffeine." She had initiated the conversation instead, with a reference to his earlier comment. He laughed at the unexpected dry humor.

"Here's to surviving until then." He said with a grin. _Please let me survive until then_. He suddenly realized that he didn't even know her name, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Jack by the way. Nice to meet you." She hesitated just long enough for him to worry she wasn't going to accept the handshake, then placed her hand lightly in his.

"Elsa. Nice to meet you too." She flicked her eyes to the clock, and they widened in surprise at the time. "I have to go. My next class is in half an hour and it's on the other side of campus." Jack winced in sympathy. That sucked, having two classes each Monday morning. He didn't think that he could do it if their roles were reversed.

"Ouch. Back to back classes this early in the morning on the first day? That's rough. I'll stop holding you up though, and let you get going." Despite the fact that he wanted to keep talking to her, Jack figured that Elsa probably wouldn't appreciate him making her late to the first lesson of her next class. She gave him a grateful smile and a small wave before sweeping out the door in a hurry. Jack watched her go with a lingering grin, and was only a little surprised to realize that he was already looking forward to Thursday's lesson.


	2. Chapter 2

_Note: Wow! When I started this, it was intended to be a oneshot, but it sort of took off like stories tend to do. Enjoy!_

Chapter 2

After her second class of the day was over, Elsa was almost free. For the next three hours, she would be working at one of the campus coffee shops as part of her work-study responsibilities. With their parents gone, and her younger sister entering college in two years, they needed to save as much on tuition as possible. It was the reason she had worked so hard to get perfect grades back in high school, and why she was doing the work-study here.

Following the directions she had been given, Elsa came upon a place called The Northern Palace. It looked beautiful, especially for a college coffee shop. The outside was a creamy white, and there were several tables out front for people to sit at. Elsa double checked the name with the one on the directions, then pushed open the door.

Inside the space was a cross between cozy and airy. There were comfortable looking chairs and couches were scattered across the room with tables nearby. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were crammed full of books varying in age and use. The books were scattered around the shop, too, on the tables and seating. The ceilings and windows were what gave the space an open feeling. The entire front of the store had six foot high windows, and the roof was much taller than it appeared from the outside.

"Hi, welcome to The Northern Palace. Can I help you with anything?" Elsa's gaze snapped to the counter to her right. A woman was leaning against the counter. She was wearing a black apron over a dress of various shades of green, and was smiling widely. Her eyes were a pretty lavender, though what drew Elsa's attention most was her hair. The woman's hair was a dark brown streaked with every shade imaginable of yellow, purple, and green. Elsa only realized that she was staring when the woman gave an amused chuckle.

"Sorry." Elsa said, flushing before she could catch herself. "My name is Elsa Aren. I'm supposed to work here as part of the work-study program? I was told that I started today." The woman's eyes lit up in recognition and her grin somehow grew even wider as she stepped out from behind the counter.

"Oh! So you're Elsa. It is wonderful to meet you." She took hold of Elsa's hand and enveloped it in both of hers before she could react. "My name is Toothiana Fae. Don't ask, it's a long story. You can just call me Tooth." Tooth had caught sight of Elsa's blink of surprise at the name and grimaced as she explained. Elsa carefully removed her hand from the other woman's as politely as she could.

"It's nice to meet you." She said, resisting the urge to shift awkwardly and fiddle with her hands. She cast a glance around the place again. "The shop is beautiful, I think I'll enjoy working here." The woman looked pleased and proud, and Elsa guessed that she was either the owner or the decorator of the place.

"I'm glad you think so. When my uncle and I started this place, we never dreamed how wonderful it could look, or how successful it could be. Five years down the road, and look at us now! Our dream is a reality, and we couldn't be happier with the way things turned out." Elsa gave a small smile. She could tell how much this meant to the woman – Tooth – to have succeeded. Tooth seemed to suddenly realize that she hadn't told Elsa what to do yet.

"Oh! Right. Well, for today, how about you look around, and pick where you want to start. If you do a good job, that can be what you do. If not, well, we'll keep looking for something that fits right for you. It wouldn't do much good to force you to clean if you're allergic to dust, or to put you behind the counter unsupervised if you've never brewed a cup of coffee before."

Elsa blinked at Tooth's unorthodox approach to the job, but scanned the area for a job to do nonetheless. Her eyes lingered on the messy bookshelves and the books scattered around the room. The shelves stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the tidy surroundings, and it was rather aggravating for Elsa to look at.

"I could pick up all of the books and tidy up the bookshelves if you would like. If not, I could clean up the place." She turned her gaze back to Tooth apologetically. "I'm more of a tea person, so I probably wouldn't be very good at making coffee without several hours of training." Tooth grinned brightly back at her.

"Of course! We've been meaning to sort out those bookshelves for weeks now, but prepping for the students has been taking up all of our time. Knock yourself out; we can train you how to make an awesome cup of coffee another day." Tooth waved her off to the task as she went back behind the counter to wash dishes. Elsa lingered for another minute, in case Tooth had any additional instructions, then began her task by going through the room and picking up all of the loose books lying around.

She was feeling fine about the whole thing until she went to reshelve them. The shelves were a mess, with no sense of organization whatsoever. Not only that, but everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. Elsa's fingers itched to rearrange it all, but she bit her lip uncertainly and glanced back at the counter where Tooth was working. She had said to go for it . . . Decision made, Elsa began to remove the books from the shelves.

* * *

Jack went through the rest of his day with much more energy than he'd started out his day with. After his huge boost of caffeine that morning, he'd actually had an energy high for a while before it had leveled out again. Around noon, he was passing by a cluster of shops on campus and decided to take a look. As he browsed, he thought back over his day.

After his first class with Elsa, he had the rest of the day free. That being the case, he had decided to explore the campus a little more in depth just for fun to see what was there. If it also helped to keep him from getting lost in the future, well, that was just an added bonus. He had actually found a small park with several paths and a pond just outside the campus borders.

As he meandered the shops, Jack's eye was caught by a creamy white store. It looked like a coffee shop, and the name written on the window was The Northern Palace. It certainly looked interesting enough, and as Jack's stomach reminded him with a growl, it was time to eat. Intrigued, he made his way over and pushed open the door.

"Hi, welcome to The Northern Palace. Can I help you with anything?" Jack was greeted instantly by the most brightly colored woman he had ever laid eyes on. She had all sorts of greens, purples, and yellows in her hair, light purple eyes if he wasn't mistaken, and a vivid green dress. He blinked several times before he got over his surprise, then gave her a friendly grin.

"Hey. I was just browsing around outside when my stomach decided it was time for lunch. Any recommendations?" Jack asked, scanning the menu as he spoke. The woman smiled brightly and nodded, pointing out one of the items.

"Sure. One of my personal favorites is our homemade Curried Chicken Salad. It's a recipe created by my uncle himself, and I've been eating it ever since I was little. I made sure he included it on the menu when this place started up." Jack nodded his agreement with the choice and the woman began putting it together for him.

"So," Jack said conversationally as he leaned against the counter, "your uncle owns this place?" The woman nodded, part of her attention staying on the meal.

"He and I decided to become business partners. My Uncle North always wanted to own a coffee shop, and would describe it to me in great detail when I was younger. As he did so, the idea began to solidify more and more, and soon enough it was my dream as well. Now, here we are!" The woman gestured around the place, and Jack's eyes followed her motion.

He had to admit that he loved the interior. It was just the right combination of comfortably close and professionally open. It had large windows for natural lighting, but Jack's favorite part had to be the bookcases lining every wall. As he scanned the shelves, his eyes came across several huge pyramids of books, a patch of empty shelves, and a familiar head of blonde hair in the midst of it all.

"Elsa?" He hadn't even realized that he'd called out to her until she turned to face him, a mild look of surprise on her face. Her cheeks were flushed slightly from exertion, and several strands of hair had escaped her updo to frame her face. When her eyes met his, they were bright with determination and satisfaction, and Jack felt his stomach flip-flop slightly.

"Jack!" she exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't think I'd run into you so soon. I see the caffeine has kicked in." A teasing glint appeared in her eyes at her last statement, and Jack grinned. It appeared that they now had an inside joke based on their morning encounter.

"Yep, and I'm still alive!" He exclaimed, making a motion reminiscent of jazz hands off to the side for effect. She laughed at that, and his grin grew a little wider at the sound. "So, what brings you here on this fine afternoon?"

"Oh, this is Elsa's first day working here!" The woman from behind the counter said, before handing Jack his plate. He handed her several bills as payment, then dropped the change in the tip jar. "Isn't it great? I can already see she's going to be a big help; she's much more organized than North or I am." Jack saw Elsa's cheeks turn a little pinker at the compliment.

"I'm only organizing the books, Tooth. It's not like I'm completely taking over the store." she said quietly, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear. The woman – Tooth, apparently? – waved a hand at the younger woman.

"Oh, nonsense. You're reorganizing the shelves by subject, and then by author. I think that deserves a commendation, given the quantity and state of everything. Besides, books today, maybe the shop tomorrow? Who can say?" Elsa gave the woman a small grin of thanks mixed with a bit of pride. Jack cast his eyes around the room.

"You're reorganizing all of this?" He whistled slightly, amazed at the amount of work she'd taken on. "That'll take a while. After I eat, would you want some help?" He offered. Elsa looked at him in curiosity. Jack realized that his offer probably did look a little strange. They had only just met that morning, and already he was offering to do her a favor just because he could.

"You don't have anywhere else to be today?" Jack tried to tell himself it was just wishful thinking that he heard a hint of hope in her voice. He smiled and shook his head, moving to sit in an armchair nearby to begin eating. He nearly dropped his plate in surprise at how soft and cushiony it was. He could sit in this chair forever.

"Nope. Lucky for you, I'm free for the rest of the day." He said to Elsa before turning to look at Tooth. "I am in love with this chair. Please don't call the police on me if I try to steal it from you." Tooth grinned, well, toothily at him, and winked playfully.

"I don't know. That one is one of my favorites. But, if you promise to leave it here, I'll make sure you get to sit there every time you come in. How does that sound?" she teased. Jack sighed dramatically, and put on a mock look of suffering.

"It sounds like my whole world just shattered. Leave behind this work of cushy awesomeness?" He was only able to hold his expression for several moments longer, until a quiet laugh from Elsa's direction set him off as well. "That sounds wonderful, thanks." He responded honestly to Tooth through his laughter. She beamed at him, then went back to work behind the counter.

Jack went back to his meal, and had to admit that it was probably one of the best things he'd eaten in months. He almost envied Tooth for having been able to eat this all throughout her childhood. It also made him want to meet the creator of the recipe. He finished quickly, and put his dishes in the designated bin, then went over to help Elsa with the books.


End file.
